Knife



- April 14, 1942. 1;. KQMADAN KNIFE Filed Aug. 1, 1941 -2 Shee ts-She e t, 1'

E 111 K.-Mafi,a'n'

IV TOR ATTORNEY April 14,1942. "K. MADAN Filed Aug. 1, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTQR BY I ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 14, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- 2,2,833

KNIFE Edward K. Madan, Maplewood, N. J. Application August 1, 1941, Serial No. 404,991

5 Claims. (Cl. 30165) This invention relates to knives, and more particularly to household knives for use in cutting cheese, pie, cake, fruit and other things having a ten en y to cling to the knife, making cutting difficult as well as spoiling the appearance of the material cut.

An object of the present inventionis to provide a knife having a series of alternate indentations and raised portions on the side-or sides of the knife blade, with the adjacent indentations and raised portions merging, by gradual inclined slopes, one into the other, to form vacuum breaking surfaces and prevent material being cut from clinging to the blade, while the sloping conjunction between theindentations and raised portions provides a smooth, uninterrupted surface for the side of the knife blade which eliminates crevices in which material can collect and permits the knife to be easily and quickly cleaned, as by wiping it with a damp cloth in lengthwise strokes or motions. The raised portions decrease in width and thickness from inwardly of the back of the knife-blade toward the cutting edge and gradually merge into the blade proper substantially in points a the cutting edge.

short distance inwardly of.

Another object of the present invention is to;

provide a knife which is made of molded material, preferably a plastic, so that the entire knife, including the handle, maybe made in a single piece and with one molding operation, thereby providing apractical and inexpensiveknife.

With these and other objectsin view, as. may appear from the accompanying specification, the invention consists of various features of construction and combinationof parts, which will be first described in connection-with the accom- Figure 6 is a fragmentary longitudinal section on the line 66 of Figure 1. Figure 7 is a side elevation of a modified form of the knife designed for general utility and particularly for use in cutting fruit.

Figure 8 is a cross-section through the knife on the line 8-8 of Figure 7.

Figure 9 is a cross-section on the line 9-9 of Figure 7; 0.

Figure 10 is a plan view of a further modified form of the knife showing a knife particularly Y adapted for use in cutting pie, cake or the like.

Figure 11- is a cross-section on the line ll-l'l of Figure 10.

Figure 1-2 is a cross-section on the line I2-l2 of Figure 10.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the improved knife shown in all of the forms of the drawings is made of a moldable material, such as plastic, glass, or the like, and preferably of plastic, because of its non-breakable qualities and its adaptability to molding.

. The form of knife shown in Figures 1 to 6 inclusive is particularly adapted for use in cutting cheese or the like, and it includes a blade I, which is formed integrally with the handle u, the entire knife being molded in a single panying drawings, showing knives of the preferred form embodying the invention, and the features forming the invention will be specifically pointed out in the claims.

In the-drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation of a knife constructed in accordance with the present invention and designed particularly for use in cutting cheese or like materiaL- r Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view on the line 2--2 ofFigure 1.

Figure 3 is a cross-section through the knife on the line 3-3 of Figure l. I

figure 4 is a cross-section through the-knife on thelineHofFigure 1.

Figure 5 is a cross-section on the line Hot Figure 1.

through the knife operationand all in one piece. The handle I l is off-set laterally from the blade I0 so as to facilitate firm gripping andcutting' action of the knife. The knife handle II has a down-tumed nib l2 at the outer end thereof, extending downwardly, the inner' edge of which is curved, as shown at [3, to fitthe little finger of the user, while the joining portion ll, between the handle I! and blade 10,. at the tenor back edge of the blade, is inclined and substantially fiat on top. The vhandle II is of such length that it will approximately fit the hand ofvthe user, with the fcur fingers gripped beneath the lower edge of the handle and the thumb resting upon the inc ined joining portion ll, thereby permitting a firm, positive grip on the knife during cutting operations. Y

The blade III of the knife has alternately arranged indentations 15 and raised portions 16 extending along its length and upon both sides of the blade, as shown in Figures 2 to 6 inclusive. The general outline of the alternate indentations and raised portions along the length of the blade is sinuous, 'and the indentations l5 merge into or-join the adjacent raised D r tions l6 by gradual inclined slopes, indicated at l1. They also merge into the blade Ila short distance inwardly 'of the back edge of the blade.

- tion, all abrupt surfaces on the sides of the knife blade are eliminated, and the va'rioussurfaces gradually merge, one into the other, so that there will be no crevices or comers in which material may collect. It also provides a knife blade which portions "for each of the cutting edges, with may be easily cleaned, in the same manner as 1 a perfectly smooth, flat blade, 1. e. by longitudinal wiping movement with a cloth, and at the same time the alternate indentations and raised portions will prevent cheese or other similar material being cut from adhering to the blade of the knife while such material is being cut, or afterward.

While the form of knife shownin Figures 1 to 6 inclusive of the drawings is particularly adaptable for cutting cheese or the like, owing to the relative construction of the handle and blade which permits flrm gripping of the knife and a rocking, cutting action, the knife shown in Figures '1 to 9 inclusive of thedrawings may also be used for the same purpose, though it is more of a general utility knife for use about the kitchen, being adapted particularly for use in cutting fruits and various other articles. Since these knives are made of plastic, they are particularly adaptable for use in cutting various types of fruits, owing to the fact that the knife is not acted upon by the acid of the fruit and will not cause a darkening or staining of the cut surfaces of the fruit. Inthis modified form of the invention, shown in Figures '7 to 9 inclusive, the handle and the blade 2| are formed in substantially/longitudinal alignment, and at their junction the edges of the knife are provided with indentations 22 and 23, in which the thumb and forefinger of the user fit, when using the knife, thus providing for a firm, comfortable grip on the knife. The blade 2|, like the blade 10, is

provided with alternate indentations 24 and.

raised portions 25, which extend along the sides or side faces of the 'blade, and are joined one to the other by sloping, joining surfaces 26, corresponding tothe surfaces I'I, so that while the sides of the knife blade are provided with vacuum-breaking, non-sticking surfaces, nevertheless the knife maybe quickly and easily washed and cleaned. The construction'of the alternate indentations 24 and raised portions 25 is the same as the construction of the alternate indentations l5 and raised portions IS. The knife blade 2| is shown as having a saw-tooth cuttingedge 21, while the blade If is shown as having a smooth cutting edge, but it is to be understood'that the cutting edges of either of these blades may be saw-toothed or smooth, as

the broad or wide portions of the indentations facing the knife edge, and the points of the raised portions facing the knife edge. That is, the blade 30 is provided with two rows of alternate indentations, andsraised portions, on one side thereof, each row being provided for conjunction with one of the cutting edges. These alternate indentations and raised portions 31 and 38 are joined together and merge into each other and into the knife blade proper by the gradual slopes 39, so that the side of the blade 30 provided with these alternate indentations and raised portions will, like the blades l0 and, 2|, provide a non-sticking surface without any crevices, corners or abrupt joints in which material may collect, and will permit the blade to be quickly, easily and 1 conveniently, cleaned.

The blade 30, being hat to a substantial degree, will permit the knife to be used as a lifter for lifting the pieces of pie, cake or the like after cutting.

It will be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the specific construction or arrangement of .parts' shown,- but that they may be widely modified within the invention definedby the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a knifeineluding a blade having a series of alternate indentations and raised portions extending along the side face of the blade with the adjacent indntations' and raised portions merging by gradual inclined slopes to provide a non-sticking knife blade free from abrupt surfaces and crevices, said raised portions gradually decreasing in thickness and width from their backiportions towards the cutting edge of the knife blade, said indentations terminating short of the back edge of said blade and merging into the blade by gradual inclined slope at their back portions.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a knife including a blade having a series of alternate indentations and raised portions extending along the side face of the blade with the adjacent indentations. and raised portions merging by gradualinclined slopes to provide a non-sticking knife blade free from abrupt surfaces and crevices, said raised portions gradually decreasing in thickness and width from their back portions towards the cutting edge of the knife blade.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a knife I molded in one piece of plastic material and indesired, withoutdeparting from the spirit of the present invention. 1 Figures 10 to 12 illustrate a further modified form of the invention. This knifeis particularly adaptable for use in cutting cake, pie, pastries, and thelike iandthe' blade 30 of this knife is formedin thefshape of a spatula-that is, it, is with the handle 3| projecting fromi the center of the broad, l ie.

Kfdel The blade 3] has'two 7 eluding a blade havinga series of indentations and raised portions extending along the side face of the blade with the adjacent indentations and raised portions merging laterally by gradual inclined slopes to provide a non-sticking knife blade without abrupt surfaces and crevices, said raised portions gradually decreasing in thickness and width from their back portions toward the cutting edge of the blade and terminating approximately flush with the surface of the blade adjacent to thecutting edge.

4. As anew article of manufacture, a knife having a blade inthe form of a. spatula, and having cutting edges on both edges of the blade,

said blade provided with a series 01' alternate-,-

sticking knife blade without abrupt surfaces or 10 crevices, the side face of said blade opposite to the one provided with said alternate indentations and raised portions beingzflat and smooth.

5. In-afnew article of manufacture, a knife including a bladehaving a series of alternate indentations and raised portions extending along the side'face of the blade, saidraised portions gradually decreasing in thickness and width from their back portions toward the cutting edge of V the blade and terminating substantially in points flush with the face of the blade adjacent to the cutting edge.

- I EDWARD K. MADAN. 

